I Love you my dad

Thursday, 7 November 2013

Original article on Samirsinh Dattopadhye's Blog www.aniruddhafriend-samirsinh.comSamirsinh Dattopadhye's FB page , Google PlusOn
Thursday, 24th October 2013, Param Poojya Bapu, in His discourse, spoke
on a very important topic. It is the ardent wish of every parent that
their child should lead a long and healthy life. Traditionally, Shashti
Poojan has been performed for this very purpose. However, over a period
of time, this poojan has gradually lost its importance and has been
reduced to a mere ritual. Param Poojya Bapu through his discourse guided
about the significance, importance and the formal procedure of
performing this poojan.

Param
Poojya Bapu said that the poojan was first performed by Rishi Agastya
and his wife Lopamudra and by Rishi Vashishtha and his wife Arundhati, together, after becoming mothers for the first time; both of them
delivering at the same time. This poojan came to be known as
‘Saptashasti Poojan’.

We have read in the MatruvatsalyaVindanamof
how in the course of the war with the demons Shumbha and Nishumbha,
all the Gods had sent their respective ‘Shaktis’ (powers) to help Shree
Mahasaraswati. These seven Shaktis are known as the ‘Saptamatruka’ of
whom Goddess Kali is their chief commander (Senapati). The names of the
seven Matrukas are as under;

1. Maaheshwari – The shakti of Shankar, she is five faced and rides on Vrishaba (bull). She has a Trishul (trident) in her hand.

2. Vaishnavi – The shakti of Vishnu, she rides on Garuda (Eagle) and has a Chakra (discus), Gada (mace) and Padma (lotus) in her hand.

3. Brahmaani- The shakti of Brahma, she is four faced and rides on a Hans (Swan). She holds a Kamandalu and an Akshamala (string of beads) in her hands.

4. Aindri – The shakti of Indra, she rides on an Elephant and is armed with Vajra.

5. Kaumari – she is the shakti of Kartikeya, is six faced and rides on a peacock.

6. Naarsimhi- One whose face is that of a lioness. She is armed with a Gada (Mace) and Khadga (Sword).

7. Varahi- One whose face is that of a boar, and rides on a white buffalo, she is armed with a Chakra, Khadga (Sword) and Dhaal (shield)

Saptamatruka

The
Poojan of these Saptamatrukas is the ‘Saptashasti’ Poojan itself. After
Bapu’s own birth, this poojan was performed in his house. An image of
the Saptamatrukas used during this poojan was shown by Bapu to all
Shraddhavans during his discourse on 24th October 2013. While
talking about the significance of this poojan, Bapu further stated that
Shumbha and Nishumbha were killed by Mahishasuramardini in the form of
Mahasaraswati, Shumbha’s son Durgam somehow managed to survive. He
survived not because he had assumed the form of a crow, but because of
the motherly love which arose in the hearts of these seven Matrukas,
even though he was the enemy’s son. Mahasaraswati was pleased by this
act of their’s and she blessed them saying, “the person who, after the
birth of a child in his house performs poojan of matrukas, that child
will be protected by you”. Hence, in every household it became a
practice to perform poojan of these Saptamatrukas after the birth of a
child.

Thereafter Bapu gave complete information about the manner in which the poojan is to be performed

Poojan Preparation:

1. Take
one small Pooja table (Paat). Draw a ‘Swastik’ or ‘Shree’ using rangoli
because these are auspicious symbols. The poojan decoration has to be
done on the paat only and not on the table or Chaurang (stand) because
we are all children in front of Mothi Aai. The first step of the child
would be a small one measuring the height of a ‘paat’ and hence ‘paat’
be used in the poojan decoration.2. Spread a shawl / sovala / bed-sheet / on the ‘Paat’. Rangoli may be drawn around the ‘Paat’. 3. On one poojan thali (tamhan) place wheat and level its surface. 4. Place one betel-nut (supari) at the centre and six others around it.5. Place
two coconuts on both sides of the poojan thali on the ‘Paat’; apply
haldi (turmeric powder) and kum-kum on the coconuts.6. On the
inner side of both coconuts, in front of the poojan thali place a small
pile (raashi) of red akshata (grains of rice mixed in kum-kum). These
raashi represents the wives of the Ashwinikumars, the two doctors of the
Gods. They are real twin sisters and their names are ‘Jara’ and
‘Jivantika’. These two never stay separated from each other, just as the
Ashwinikumars do. They are the ones who play with the child when it is
small. It is believed that they take care of the child and it is in
response to them that the baby smiles till the time it turns 3 months
old. (a) Jara represents the giver of long life. “Let the child live till it becomes very old” is the blessing that it gives. (b) Jivantika means the one who blesses the child by giving protection towards its health as long as the child lives.7. Place
four betel leaves on four sides of the ‘Paat’. Place a supari on each
one of them. Placing of supari signifies invoking God. Invoking God by
placing betel leaves and supari is akin to invoking without chanting any
mantras, as stated by Katyayani, the form of Adimata incarnate. Placing
of betel leaves signifies that the invitation has reached God as this
is Katyayani’s resolve.

Saptamatruka Poojan Preparation

8. On the rear side of the pooja thali (plate), touching it, place the photograph of Saptamatruka.

Poojan Procedure:1. This poojan is to be performed between sunrise and sunset only. It can be done on any day, even on the day of Amavasya.

2.
The poojan is to be performed only after the birth of the child and
that too by the father of the child. While doing the poojan, the father
should place the child on his lap atleast for some time. This poojan can
be done anytime, 3 days after the child is born.

3. The poojan is to be started by chanting of “Vakratunda Mahaakaaya…”

4. This is followed by chanting of Gurukshetram mantra. After this, it is mandatory to take the Sadguru’s name.

5.
Offer haldi and kum kum on the supari kept on the betel leaf. If
possible, apply wet kum kum. After that offer haldi, kum kum, askshata
and gandha (sandalwood paste) on the supari kept in the poojan thali.

6.
Further, the poojan is to be performed chanting ‘Navmantramala Stotram’
given in the Matruvatsalyavindanam. This stotra has to be chanted
atleast once; those who are desirous of chanting more than once may do
so

7.
While chanting the stotra, offer fragrant flowers dipped in gandha and
akshata. If fragrant flowers are not available, then ordinary flowers
will suffice. Offer flowers on the suparis, the photo of Saptamatrukas,
and also on the pile (raashi) of Akshata representing Jara and
Jivantika. Offer flowers only when the Navamantramala Stotram is chanted
for the first time.

8. Light the lamp and dhoop.

9.
Prepare seven plates for naivedya and offer Puran (a sweet made of gram
and jaggery) and Varan (lentil soup). Alongwith this, also offer dry
coconut with jaggery as naivedya. If it is not possible to offer seven
plates for Naivedya for any reason whatsoever, then only jaggery and a
half of dry coconut may be offered.

10. Lastly, after offering Naivedya, offer the lotus flower, as it is the favoured flower of this God.

Naivedya

Bapu
further stated that the poojan is to be done only after the birth of
the child and the first poojan is to be done by the father of the child.
While the poojan is being performed, the child’s mother should sit for
the poojan atleast for some time. If, for some reason, the child’s
father is not present during the poojan, then the grandfather (father’s
father OR mother’s father) of the child can perform the poojan. If even
they are not present then any one of the child’s close male relatives
may perform the poojan. Once the child grows up, then the mother of the
child can do the poojan anytime for the child without any age-bar. One
can perform the poojan of the child any number of times; on the child’s
birthday or after the child recovers from illness or any other day or
occasion. During this time, the poojan can be performed by the parents
together or individually. Likewise, once the poojan is performed, there
is no compulsion to repeat the poojan. If there are more children in the
house, then it is always preferable to do the poojan separately for
each child. However, if due to some unavoidable circumstances the time
is not available, then the poojan may be performed for all the children
together.

Saptamatruka Poojan

Once
the poojan is over, the poojan decoration should be kept as it is for
atleast 3 hours, after which it can be removed any time. The flowers and
suparis may be sent for visarjan (immersion). Wheat may be used as
Prasad in the household cooking. Alternately the same wheat can also be
offered to a cow as this is always considered pious. Naivedya may, as
usual, be partaken by the members of the household. The photograph of
Saptamatruka is not to be sent for immersion. Rather it should be kept
in the house in a secure place. The photograph can be photoframed and
kept at the place of worship (Pooja room). In future, if a new child is
born in the house, then the poojan is to be done preferably by getting a
new photograph.

The photographs of Saptamatruka are available at Shree Gurukshetram and Shree Harigurugram.A copy of
the ‘Navmantramala Stotram’ required for the Saptamatruka poojan is
appended in Sanskrit, Marathi and Hindi language alongwith this post. As
stated by Param Poojya Bapu, during the poojan this stotra is to be
chanted in any one of the three languages viz., Sanskrit, Marathi or
Hindi.I am confident that every Shraddhavan will surely do this poojan individually at his house.

Original article on Samirsinh Dattopadhye's Blog www.aniruddhafriend-samirsinh.comSamirsinh Dattopadhye's FB page , Google PlusLast week, on the 18th
of October, 2013, to be precise, I happened to visit an exhibition on
Architecture, Construction and Engineering held at the National
Exhibition Centre (NESCO) at Goregaon, Mumbai. This exhibition named
‘ACE Tech 2013 – The Future of Building’ was organized by The Economic
Times; ACE being the acronym for Architecture, Construction and
Engineering respectively. I myself being a civil engineer have always
nurtured the passion of trying to get to know more about the various
technologies relating to these fields, from the past and present as well
as the future is likely to be.

I had been at NESCO to attend this exhibition on 18th
October 2013 along with few of my colleagues. We reached at 10:00 am in
the morning. Though I had actually planned this visit only for a few
hours, I actually ended up spending the whole day immersed in knowing
about the various new products and technologies that were there on
display.

What
we saw here was a wonderful spread of architecture and construction
related products and technologies; a treat for engineering minds,
ranging from tiles and ceramics, natural and engineered marble,
decorative and architectural lighting, doors and windows, hardware and
fittings, air-conditioning and refrigeration, paints, coats and wall
coverings, etc.

After
reading Digital Fortress authored by Dan Brown I could not hold myself
from picking up Deception Point, yet another masterpiece by Dan Brown.
As usual the narrative of the book was in his typical inimitable style –
very lucid and clear. What makes Dan Brown a class apart is his
unwavering focus on being clear and precise. These are the very
principles which Bapu has time and again emphasized upon for making our
lives meaningful and successful.

Deception Point

I
read the Marathi translation of the book which was wonderfully done by
Ashok Padhye. It’s great to see Mehta Publishing House making these
quality novels available to Marathi readers.

Deception
Point starts from an ultra-secretive technical intelligence agency and
the highest political echelons of the world’s most powerful country. It
is from here that it transports the readers to the harsh and inhibited
ice-shelves of the Arctic Circle, and back again to the political and
media hallways of power of the country’s capital. Most of the
technologies and weapons systems described in this novel by Mr. Dan
Brown are totally unheard-of and seemingly extremely futuristic. It is
important to note that Mr. Brown has confirmed their existence and
regular usage by armed forces, but that it is highly classified. The
various cases and examples of usage of these technologies underline the
extreme importance and need of most of the militaries, the world over to
possess advancements, to win the new-age battles against extremely
hostile and brutal enemies and terrains. This is the exact point that
justifies and aligns the recent purchases of advanced warfare systems by
India, which is geographically, politically and militaristically placed
in a volatile and precarious region and situation.

As
the name suggests, Deception Point is the story about a deception,
which is the most effective weapon of this era. This novel is story of
treachery and a bunch of lies that are weaved together and controlled by
a mysterious power-broker an intelligence tsar who doesn’t stop
at hiding anything, but the truth. The deception is made to feel so
true and real. The deception not just fools all, but has the potential
to change the course of the impending presidential elections, which
ultimately would have a huge bearing on the space policy of not just
that nation but of all the nations across the globe. But finally, the
truth prevails.

The
novel certainly showcases that pure truth, love and joy are the only
three most basic and most important principles of this the mankind; and
anything beyond it is just ephemeral.

I sincerely feel and recommend that every socially aware and responsible reader should read this book.

Just
when the situation in the Middle East was reaching boiling point and
waiting to explode in the form of an expected US-led attack on Syria, a
piece of smart and shrewd diplomacy by the Russian President, Vladimir
Putin undid it all for the US. Putin’s op-ed in the New York Times,
while questioning the US plan of attacking Syria, without seeking UN
approval, saw this as an attack not just on Syria but on the relevance,
existence and future of UN itself, the organisation formed for achieving
lasting world peace. Putin’s op-ed concluded with an astounding jolt to
the global community and especially to the US, when he compared the
fate of UN with the League of Nations, a precursor of UN in the post
First World War era. This op-ed was the single most important factor
that put the US on the defensive and brought it to the negotiations
table with Russia on the issues concerning the situation in Syria and
more particularly on the use of chemical weapons there.

Vladimir Putin – President of Russia

While
it appears that an armed conflict has been averted for the present, the
possibility of its recurrence in future cannot be ruled out at all. In
response to a proposal from Russia, Syria has agreed to give-up on its
chemical weapons and facilities. Although the US has agreed with Russia
on its proposal on Syrian crisis, there still remains a major and
dangerous difference in opinion between the two sides, as to how the US
would respond in case Syria goes back on its words. A few days back, the
US had even hinted at using the military option in the event that Syria
backtracks on its promise. However, the US President Barack Obama
carefully avoided any mention of this during his address to the United
Nations General Assembly last week. It is important to note that at a
time when the US has agreed to this Russian brokered deal, they have
also started preparing for increasing weapons supply to the Syrian
rebels fighting the government forces. Along with the US, Saudi Arabia,
United Arab Emirates and Qatar too are assisting rebels through all
possible means. The Syrian rebels have also found growing sympathy from
Turkey and Jordan as well. At this same time, Syrian President has
claimed that the external forces, especially Turkey that are supporting
the rebels will have to repent, as the rebels that they are currently
supporting would turn against them in the days to come. All these
happenings certainly point towards the possibility of escalation of
strife and violence across Syria, in particular, and the Middle East, at
large, in the days to come.

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)

Meanwhile,
there has also been a frenzied exchange of accusations between the US
and Syrian rebels on the one side and Assad regime and Russia on the
other, for fixing the blame for the use of chemical weapons on
civilians. In what appears to be a brief respite for this war-torn
region, Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the
Netherlands head-quartered intergovernmental organisation, that
promotes and verifies the adherence to the Chemical Weapons Convention,
has confirmed that they have received a dossier from the Assad
government on the Syrian chemical weapons programme and facilities, as
per the Russian brokered deal. However, the Russian President’s
statement at this juncture that it would be difficult to believe that
the Assad regime would give up on its entire stockpile of chemical
weapons as also the facilities has made the Western powers sceptical and
eyebrows have been raised about this entire arrangement. The Assad
regime has estimated that it would take them one year to destroy its
chemical weapons stockpile and that the whole process would cost around
$1 billion. It is also worth noting that the former US Secretary of
State and a veteran diplomat, Henry Kissinger has expressed doubts over
the deal reached over Syria with Russia. Like Putin, Kissinger too has
said that Syria may, at best, destroy 90% of its chemical weapons and
continue to maintain the rest. Kissinger further claimed that even the
significantly reduced stockpile of chemical weapons would pose a major
threat. While bashing Syria on the one hand, Kissinger surprisingly said
on the other that it is in interest of the US to trust Russia at this
point in time over the Syrian agreement.

Bashar al-Assad – President of Syria

Meanwhile,
on last Friday, the UN Security Council voted unanimously for a
resolution that makes the OPCW legally binding on Assad’s regime.
However, under a compromise clinched between Russia and the Western
powers last week, the said resolution does not provide for automatic
punitive measures against the Syrian government if it fails to comply.
Meanwhile, the implementation of the resolution passed over Syria has
begun with the UN informing that its weapons inspectors in Syria have
commenced their investigations at a total of seven sites where chemical
weapons were allegedly used, including three incidents after the 21st
August 2013 attack on Syrian civilians. Though all the parties involved
have reached a consensus on dispersing the war clouds that had gathered
over the Middle East, the sharp differences of opinions and perception
between the two camps continue to remain.

Middle East Situation – World at the Crossroads (Part II)

Both
the US and Russia have significant vested interests in this region.
Continuance of a favourable regime in Syria is of utmost importance to
Russia. Russia maintains an extremely important military base in Syria
at its port city of Tartus, in form of a naval installation which is
their sole existing military facility outside the former Soviet Union.
This is the very reason for Russia to steadfastly support the Assad
regime.

At
the same time, other nations in the Middle East, particularly the Sunni
nations, which are allies of the US, are extremely keen to overthrow
the Assad regime. Qatar has a keen interest in supplying its natural gas
to Europe. Qatar had planned to install a pipeline for supply of
natural gas to Europe that would run across Syria. However, the plan had
received strong opposition from the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The Assad regime, while rejecting the Qatari pipeline proposal to
Europe, on the one hand, inked a similar deal worth almost $10 billion,
in cooperation with Iran and Iraq during July last year. It may be of
interest to note that the clashes between the Syrian forces and rebels
actually coincided with the inking of the deal by Syria. It is believed
that Saudi Arabia too had done hectic lobbying with Russia to get it on
board during the period in which Qatar had proposed its gas pipeline.
Saudi Arabia too is very keen to have a friendly regime in
geo-politically sensitive Syria, in order to foster and maintain its
dominance in the fuel trade.

Traditionally,
Russia has been a leading fuel supplier to Europe. The European nations
have been alleging the use of this fuel by Russia as a weapon against
them. Hence, Russia would be the last nation that would want fuel from
the Middle East to reach Europe. This is another important reason for
Russia’s continued support of the Assad regime in Syria. As a result of
this complicated mesh of vested interests of all the parties involved, a
long-lasting resolution to the Syrian crisis seems a distant reality
and the current peace efforts seem be just a temporary arrangement.

Along
with the Middle Eastern countries, the US and Russia, other countries
are now gradually getting drawn into this issue. European allies of the
US, namely the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Denmark,
Luxembourg, Spain and the Netherlands have pledged financial aid worth
$430 million for Syrian refugees. The United Kingdom has also declared
an additional package of $3 million which would be dedicated for
destruction of Syrian chemical weapons and facilities. China, along with
Russia, has traditionally sided with Syria and blocked several
US-sponsored anti-Syria resolutions in the UN. China has been
unsupportive of any military action against Syria and has recently
claimed ‘dialogue’ to be the only and the best available option to
resolve the Syrian issue.

The
threat of increased violence not only poses a serious challenge to the
stakeholders involved, but at the same time it also poses serious
challenges before a country like India, that imports 80% of its fuel
requirement and depends heavily on the Middle East for its supply. The
US has already put sanctions on Iran, which was one of the leading fuel
suppliers to India. Iran gives 90 days credit to Indian oil companies
and its crude is cheaper than that from Saudi Arabia and Iraq. It also
accepts part of the payments in Indian currency. Hence, India saves
precious foreign exchange if it buys fuel from Iran. However, the US
sanctions on Iran have forced India to reduce its imports from Iran.
Similarly, Syria has offered India stakes in its oil and gas fields.
There are 14 onshore oil blocks and 6 offshore oil blocks in Syria.
However, due to the current situation in Syria, Indian companies have
temporarily suspended their operations over there. Projects of Oil and
Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. are also
part of it. India is also involved in a steel plant in Syria.

Political
imbalance in fuel-rich Middle East has always led to a surge in fuel
prices. The Indian rupee is already in a free fall, making imported fuel
costlier. A rise in fuel prices could spell further trouble for an
already troubled Indian economy. Oil accounts for about a third of
India’s import bill. According to most analysts, an attack on Syria
could push oil prices to $150 levels, from the present level of about
$115. If fuel prices were to go higher, it will be very difficult for
the Indian government to contain inflation.